Editorial

Dear Reader,


In the calm before the storm of the election month, we have decided to make this issue a little more creative and save the politics for next month. We’re looking at writers, musicians and emerging forms of art and theatre from South Africa that have made and are making South Africa heard. Art by its nature is universal, allowing people to communicate without the attached societal strings. That language has helped to broadcast South African issues both at home and abroad, and we live in the hope that it encourages people to get to know us as a nation, and to feel positively and empathetically toward us.

From the time when apartheid was still the rule of law, to the transition period where the world watched as we worked at transforming peacefully to this new nation, to the present day struggle to make the nation our own, our creative expression has helped draw us closer together as South Africans, and draw the outside world into ours. South Africa is a country of artistic opportunity and home to rich and varied cultures. Slowly, and through our creative expression the outside world is beginning to realise that.

As books are translated and published abroad, bands make headway into the international music scene, and our poems reach people we may never meet and who might never see our country, we would like to salute those who work to a different beat and create those avenues for us. The long, oddly timed hours, poor financial reward and countless ‘Thank you, but we will have to turn you down’ letters – we appreciate those efforts, and without them, our nation would, most likely, be a lot less ‘rainbow’ and a lot less ‘nation’. Hats off to you!

The Roots Republic Team

News Story

Voting for Expats

For the (hopefully) very few who haven’t heard yet, South Africans who are not living at home but who are registered to vote have been given the right to do so from the country they are based in.

There are two important facts here – one is that you need to have this sorted out by March 27. The second is that you need to know that voting happens the week before it happens at home – so the 15th of April.

In order to ensure that you are allowed to vote, you need to download this form http://www.elections.org.za/Documents/Voting2009/VEC10%20absence%20from%20the%20Republic1.pdf and make sure that you have faxed it off to +2712 428 5566 or +2712 428 5279 by March 27th.

Calling them to ensure that they have received your application is probably worth your while to ensure that you don’t arrive on the 15th and get turned away.

Happy Voting!

Once upon a time…we most certainly are not

By Toni Parsons

The anecdotal ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ was almost certainly coined in reference to South Africa’s novelists. The range of cultures and races bring a unique flavour of superstition and perspective that rivals just about the best that writing imaginations can come up with. This is probably the reason that fiction from South Africa runs an almost parallel line with perceived reality - or is largely taken from it.

Unfortunately, much of South African literature stops at the border - 9 of our 11 languages are almost unheard outside of the country. This puts us in a unique position of being able to produce literature about South Africa and for South Africans, but makes it that much harder to get international exposure. The authors and stories that have achieved international acclaim are predominantly those written in English and Afrikaans. As we expand and become more internationally competitive, perhaps this hurdle will be overcome, but as it stands our acclaimed literature is almost entirely white-authored.

That said, we are not short of bestsellers on the international circuit. The literature that has proved the most successful world-wide is that with a strong flavour of South Africanness, letting foreigners into our world, and giving them a more internal perspective that simply visiting South Africa would not allow.

JM Coetzee unashamedly opened up South Africa and the darker side of our country that human nature would like to instinctively suppress. Andre Brink continues to document tales unique to South Africa but universal in their examination of human nature, excusing nobody but maintaining a dignity and insight into the motivations pressuring each of his characters. Alan Paton is probably the most renowned of South African authors with his ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’. The incredible emotional journey the reader embarks on as the characters develop and work through anger and heartbreak, overcoming attitudes that are as ingrained in them as the colour of their skins. The list goes on: Nadine Gordimer, Breyton Breytenbach, Olive Shreiner, Marita van der Vyver, Athol Fugard, Etienne van Heerden, Mark Behr – to name just a few. In the past these writers have reached an international audience with works in both English and Afrikaans, some in both and more than a few translated into other languages.

What stands out as a theme in all of the works of these authors is an examination of people in South Africa, but not of humanity unique to South Africa. Predominantly these are stories of a character journey through traits learned almost in the womb for South Africans in the past, but which all people grapple with, to a lesser or greater extent. Anger, racism, hatred, violence, love, loss, innocence taken. While these issues are universal, what makes South African works so powerful is that they have a genuine flavour to them that is near impossible to conjour up, and that the characters in the stories reach the culminating point in the novel far from where they started – but not in a ‘we are all happy families and we all lived happily ever after’ fashion. These are almost (some would say, more often than not are) real people that are written about, and real life doesn’t usually end up ‘happily ever after’.

Perhaps this is what has made literature from a small African country far from the first world of New York and London so successful. That it isn’t gold painted or dressed up. It’s honest, emotional, genuine and allows for human frailty and failings to glare out unashamedly. Admitting failures and frailty makes dealing and overcoming them much easier than gilt painting them. My fervent hope is that reality will in fact mimic fiction, and that as a people we will become even more honest, emotional genuine and understanding of human frailty and failings than we are. If we mimic our literary selves, we empower our real selves to grow into the original united nation – a first world of a different kind.

Business funding in South African Theatre

By: Jessica Farley

South African theatre has a difficult legacy which, under the circumstances, is to be expected. Throughout the 20th century and Apartheid, the majority of the population had their theatrical flourishes repressed and for those who fell into the category of the haves, a great deal of their efforts to create relevant theatre centred on the struggle were squashed too. For many years any sort of local theatre scene was discouraged and South Africans were forced to turn to international sitcoms and Hollywood movies.

Fourteen years on and fighting tooth and nail for our continued democracy, South Africa has seen an explosion of creativity, with players being able to stretch their wings and explore all amounts of subjects and avenues. However, the culture of South Africa is not geared around live entertainment and through what has come before us, we just don’t seem to get the idea of theatre and live music being an important and relevant way of spending evenings and weekends. This mentality coupled with a growing (but still small amount) of grass roots encouragement means that the bright new stars are struggling for their footing and those who are able to make a career of it are the lucky few.

Funding, coupled with the lack of the theatre goer’s mentality, is one of the main problems. The nature of being a country straddling the first and third world divide means that the survival of our numbers are of paramount importance. Fair enough. However, that means that the majority of art funding cannot be expected to come from the government or indeed, it seems, the ones who hold the purse strings but have no vision or foresight in the towers of the national lottery. In order to sustain any sort of momentum, the responsibility of new theatre production has fallen on the shoulders of the country’s three largest festivals: the privately-funded ABSA Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in Oudsthoorn, the Aardklop Arts Festival in Potchefstroom and the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Those festivals receive the majority of their funding from public reserves and the initiative is driven forward not by a country-wide and governmental focussed drive, but rather through individual companies pushing and pulling their weight.

The main players in South African theatre funding these days are: SBSA (visual arts, music with emphasis on jazz, arts in general through Grahamstown festival), ABSA (Arts Festival Klein Karoo, big musicals and visual arts), FNB (Contemporary dance and visual arts), Nedbank (Arts & Culture trust), Investec (big musicals), Rand Merchant Bank (music), Sasol (classical music), MTN (visual arts, music), Vodacom (popular forms of music), Old Mutual (music – general: doing big outdoor shows at Emmerentia dam/Kirstenbosch).

At present, several big multi-national companies are pulling their weight. What is gratifying to see is that it is not just the big players but smaller companies that have also taken an interest in the arts. Business & Arts South Africa (BASA) have founded the Supporting Grant Scheme with funding from the Department of Arts and Culture, and aims to encourage and increase business sponsorship of the arts. The initiative is described on their website - http://www.basa.co.za/ - as follows: It is designed as an incentive scheme for business sponsors, not as another source of public subsidy for arts organisations. For this reason, the possibility of a BASA grant should form part of the negotiations from the start between the applicant arts organisation and a potential sponsor. In this way, the multiple possibilities emerging from a partnership can be properly discussed and explored.

It is not the conventional way of doing things and in comparison to established arts countries like the UK, where funding is far easier to come by, South Africa does pose more problems. But, the point is, there are ways and means and the theatre culture of South Africa is bubbling under the surface. In a country rife with entrepreneurs and built on the back of its people’s passion perhaps it is time to see this dearth of funds as a shrewd new form of investment or, at the very least, something to keep on supporting and watching for future opportunities.

Strictly Come Politicking

By: Gareth Hobbs

Having watched some impressive dramatic performances from Jacob Zuma, Mosiuoa ‘Terror’ Lekota and Helen Zille, complimented nicely by the stand up comedy routine that is Julius Malema’s public speaking, I wondered what would happen if the elections were run like reality TV shows. Some possibilities could include the following … (SABC watch out!):

Survivor – Union Buildings

A strong team dominates the early stages of the show, but as the final stretch approaches, old rivalries start to surface and cracks appear, resulting in some back stabbing and defection to a new alliance in the form of COPE. BUT, will the new team be strong enough to survive the final tribal council, or will they be forced to leave the island.

Strictly Come Politicking

A marked difference is apparent between the dancing abilities of the two presidential candidates. The ANC proves to be a free flowing master of the evasive shuffle, especially when set to the hypnotic beat of the spin doctors, while COPE shows the promise of being a competent dancer who knows and follows all the correct steps. Of course, the ANC have managed to sneak a second contestant into the show who excels at taking the limelight away from the deficiencies of the presidential candidate. With the judges scores being withheld until after the final show, who knows whether they will still be in a position to have an effect on the outcome.

Political Idols

Judges oscillate between loving and hating Zuma while the rest of the contestants badger the judges to make a decision, forgetting that it is the viewing public that ultimately make the call. Zuma shows an astonishing range - with performances from M.C. Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”, to Queen’s “I Want it All” - finished off with a fist pumping rendition of “Amandla”. Shilowa and Lekota’s duet of “I Want To Break Free” wins them support … but will it be enough? A repeat performance of “The Arms Deal Rag” by Patricia de Lille fails to impress as the public is looking for something new, and Zille is remembered as an ‘also ran’ when she does an excellent job of trash talking her opponents, but fails to deliver a vote winning performance.

The Amazing Race

In the only show that wouldn’t require a name change, teams of two compete for the ultimate prize. The ANC, represented by Zuma and Malema, manage to get through to the final stage through judicious use of the “fast forward”, which ,instead of sending them to the next pit stop, delays the impending fraud and corruption trial. In a surprise move the COPE team, initially comprised of Shilowa and Lekota, are replaced by a single player in the form of Bishop Dundala. Whether Dundala can singlehandedly manage the detours and roadblocks that undoubtedly lie ahead will make compelling viewing. Zille and de Lille, among others in the group of single entities, are all hampered from the start by being unable to be in two places at once and generate twice the media coverage. As a result, the one man shows fail to make an impact in the closing stages.

Regardless of which form the show would take, one thing is for certain: international interest in a local production would be at a record high. Now, if only we could convince the contestants that the world is actually watching and, unlike with fictitious television, investment income does not go to the country with the most outrageous performers.

Restless Jozi

By: Ross Farley

Behind the tales of siege and destruction (references to electrically fenced walls, Jewish women armed with Uzis and poodles, and West Rand faux Tuscan villas) is a city that many of us were born in and, despite popular myth, a city we live and thrive in. Johannesburg is a fun place to be, and provided you’re not partial to searching for the next box set to pepper your Friday night with, there’s a lot to get up to in the city.

Recently my house mate and I decided to explore the city’s lesser known nightlife by way of a GPS pub crawl. The rules were simple: punch local entertainment into your GPS, limit your range to within 5km of your house to avoid main roads and those highly ethical, born to service filth known as the Johannesburg Metro Police and ensure you set your sights on pubs / venues that none of the participating parties have ever been to. Its fail safe!

The second pub we found ourselves in was a typical local. A pool table in the corner with minimal space to take your shot, a cocktail list boasting pearlers like a “ball splat” or “knuckle turd” and my third favourite prejudice, karaoke. We plonked ourselves down at the bar and within seconds of our first tequila, a very cordial bar manageress introduced herself and invited (bullied) us into picking a karaoke song. Getting the fear of a man recently arrived in a small town and is too scared to greet anyone in case the next blink will reveal a cock-eyed wife, three grossly overweight children and a first name basis relationship with Irma at the local diner, I coolly declined and returned to my uber-cool vodka cooler. Three frames and two tequilas later and my amigo and I were fighting off competition for the microphone so that we could start sodomising our third song at pitch worthy of every neighborhood dog’s most loving affection.

At an hour somewhere between two and ready to pass-out, we found ourselves at a bar on the West Rand (yes kids, life does continue passed the 14th avenue off ramp) which had, evidently, never been visited by a Caucasian and an Indian chap. As we walked in, the music halted and a couple of hundred black faces turned to evaluate the two “foreigners”. After the scrutiny was completed and we had passed the silent test, my friend and I fell into the groove, bumping and grinding with earnest to the latest Snoop Dog offering. Mid pelvic thrust I felt a lascivious tap on my shoulder. Through my inebriation I translated the garbled club murmur of the cute young lady into her making a request that stems from a unique female ability – them offering you an opportunity buy them a drink. My tequila goggles gave her a 7 so I jumped at the chance. Alas, at that point the bulk of my cash had been invested in the following day’s hangover. I dare anyone to show me how to look cool counting out one’s change in a desperate attempt to cover the cost of the drinks order. Thank God for my friend, who stepped to my aid with the help of his slightly healthier budget. Even in my shameful state, asking the cute number 7 to pay for the drinks surely would have evaporated any semblance of pulling power I had left. Unfortunately she cottoned on to my Dickensian state and chose to spend the rest of the evening curled up with the resident D.J. Thankfully, at some point, my friend pulled my disgracefully un-rhythmic ass off the dance floor and told me it was time to go home.

In Johannesburg we often feel guilty about recognizing its potential due mostly to the reminders of the city’s vast and often disturbing short-comings. We forget that the people are friendly and often curious about new people (an attribute quite distant from our Cape Town counterparts) and the city is at a stage of development where one can see how incredible it will be when all the current projects eventually come to life. With a bit of effort there is a never ending list of fun to be had in Jozi. I do love this city and its endless supply of cultural and entertainment diamonds.

African Insights

‘Spot’ Ghana’s snow leopard in Vancouver 2010

By: Tracy Hammond

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, 34, may have grown up in a country where 20 degrees Celsius is considered cold weather, but this has in no way affected his dream of representing Ghana at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Born in Glasgow where his father was completing his doctorate, Kwame didn’t stay there (or anywhere else with snow) but instead grew up on the hot open plains of Ghana. His story is most reminiscent of the triumphs of the Jamaican bobsleigh team, which inspired the 1993 film Cool Runnings. There is one difference between the Jamaicans and Kwame though: Kwame has actually seen snow before, albeit only 4 years ago for the first time!

Four years ago Kwame left his job as a Safari Guide in Accra, Ghana, to further his studies in the UK. To support himself during this time he worked as a receptionist in the Xscape Snow Dome in Milton Keynes which gave him free access to the artificial slopes. Here he taught himself to ski and very quickly it became clear that he had a knack for the sport - with this developed the nickname that sticks still today- ‘Snow Leopard’. From there he joined the race circuit, acquired himself a coach (Dave Jacobs) and a year after his first contact with snow was set to represent Ghana at the Turin Olympics in 2006. However, it was not to be and en route to the qualifying event, his plane was grounded in Amsterdam due to ice on the wings, and he missed the qualifying events.

This did not halt Kwame’s ambition or his dreams and he persevered for another 4 years. Last week his doggedness paid off when it was officially confirmed that Africa’s ‘Snow Leopard’ will be competing at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver as Ghana’s and Africa’s first ever black African entrant on the International circuit. He is determined to not just compete but wants to make his country proud, “I don’t want to just get down, but ski well and not come at the bottom of the table” he said. Perhaps proof then that a leopard can change his spots if he truly puts his mind to it!

Roots Republic Have Your Say

2010: Get Ready Get Set

Dominic Esposito

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FIFA President, Sepp Balter stands up. He opens the envelope, has a quick look, smiles, and tells the world that the 2010 World Cup host nation will be… South Africa! (Cue roaring applause)

South Africans who watched the announcement of the 2010 World Cup host nation will remember the instantaneous joy afforded us by seeing our country’s name on the card. Tears of joy were shed at the accomplishment, in sharp contrast to the disappointment of losing out to the Germans in 2006. That moment and that accomplishment has formed a base from which our nation can grow from strength to strength

While the world's leading economies are sliding into a recession, I like to think that South Africa is sitting back and laughing its socks off. Yes, it’s going to be a rough few years, but we have a major ace up our sleeves in the form of next year’s FIFA World Cup.

Let’s make sure that this is in perspective. We are not talking about rugby or about cricket, but soccer - the world’s most famous and accessible sport, the pinnacle of all tournaments behind the Olympic Games. We need to sit and think for a moment about how much this is going to bring into our country and what it is going to do for our economy at a time when the rest of the world is enduring a very rough financial ride. South Africa is still feeling the pressures of course, but it is all relative and we are sitting very pretty in comparison

Even those who are not soccer fans can appreciate that this is the sport that is watched by the most people worldwide. For us, this means that the amount of tourists this three week event is going to bring will have a knock on effect running into the billions in tourist spending into the economy. When the final whistle blows on what is going to be an electric close to a very successful campaign, the benefits will go well beyond 2010. This in the shape of an impact from which a sustainable economic lift will follow in what we hope will be the closing periods of the current recession.

There are going to be people who will not make the trip on account of financial reasons. However, I would like to think that structurally weakened currency, will make South Africa a very attractive holiday destination both during and after the World Cup.

The confirmation that South Africa is fit to host a World Cup marks an important shift in perception and is a vital confidence booster for our country, especially during the current political climate. In the world's eyes we have for the most part moved from being an apartheid-ravaged nation to a democratic, stable and accountable land. And one which has had the final approval leading to the Soccer World Cup in 2010.

Good luck Bafana Bafana, and Viva South Africa - you have the support of us all.

Gourmet SA

Fast Food

By: The Cobbler King

So the Australians beat us comfortably in the cricket tests in Johannesburg and KZN and to my mind there is only one kind of comfort eating that can take away that kind of pain and it comes in the form of really good fast food.

At times we all like to top up our grease and salt quota with the good Colonel or Ronalds’ stores products, but neither of those institutions can really be classified as good fast food. I would say that they can be called adequate at best. I also find the high after consumption doesn’t last long and feelings of guilt and anti Western World sentiments on American fast food hegemony soon intrude on any pleasure. I accept that this might not be the same for everybody, but I know my reader out there feels the same way so I’ll proceed in this vein.

So what do I mean by good fast food? Here in South Africa the whole culture of good fast food is either still to be born or has already died a silent death. Apart from the iconic Boerewors rolls and and occasional hot dog stands, biltong shacks and localised - but nevertheless ubiquitous- “tuck shops” and Spaza stores, we are singularly under resourced in access to good, nutritious and inexpensive takeaways. The last meat and gristle pie sampled at the Shell garage store stands as a sad but powerful metaphor for state of our South African fast food culture.

In New York they comprehend the idea of good fast food and it seems that every street is inundated with tastes of India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, to name a few. It’s a place where street vendors and markets abound, offering a bewildering choice of soups, sandwiches, “road food”, sausages, omelettes, noodles, rice dishes, pies and so on and so forth. I cannot understand why, in a country with so many really good ingredients on offer, we have so little choice.

On quiet days, I sit back and remember a food stand in downtown San Francisco that offered 47 varieties of sausage, including the one of Polish origin (possibly not imported that day) that was made up of strong herb and paprika laced meat - absolutely delicious and, of course, totally fat free. Thoughts of Indian road food (which I discovered in isolated Uganda) comprised of delicate pastries with aromatic and beautifully spiced contents wakes me up at night. It is a memory of the subtle blends of flavours that were best appreciated by shovelling large quantities of the dainty mini pies into ones mouth.

The European continent offers interesting and varied fast foods. Hot chestnuts with salt on the River Thames, the excellent hot dog stands in Norway and Sweden and mussels, chips and mayonnaise in Holland all spring to mind. How the dour Dutch came up with such a divine combination of flavours is a real mystery. In England there are the winkle and whelk stands where you can get jellied eels, which were always part and parcel of any visit to what we called the sea side. By the way, f you have never eaten a whelk and you come to your first opportunity it will take considerable will power to take that first bite, but trust me it is worth it! Seasoned with a bit of malt vinegar and white pepper and life cannot get much better (especially when combined with a sunny day in the UK)!

Fast food requires little planning for and if thoughtfully prepared can provide rapid satisfaction and instant fuel for those who need it – it also adds a bit of variety to the daily snacks prepared in ones own kitchen. What we need to do is capitalise on the generation of the fast food nation and bastardise it South African style. Perhaps a traditional drive through with an abundance of freshly grilled braaivleis and varied salads served by a man in khaki, or how about an African extraordinaire with wholesome mielie pap and tomato salsa served in takeaway cartons with a choice of salted meat? Let the healthy, homely options kick in soon, so if – heavens forbid – the Ozzies ever teach us how to suck eggs on the cricket pitch again, we have a varied choice of scrumptious South African delicacies to comfort eat our way through the pain.